Methods and systems for generating ambient light effects based on video content

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for producing ambient light effects based on video content are provided. A method of producing an ambient light effect includes providing a receiving device including a processor configured to parse incoming video content and receiving the video content including a plurality of scenes at the receiving device. The method further includes parsing the incoming video content and detecting at least one scene in the video content for association with at least one ambient light effect. The method also includes generating a command specifying at least one ambient light effect to be associated with at least one scene and sending the command from the receiving device to at least one lighting device in communication with the receiving device to generate at least one ambient light effect associated with at least one scene when the scene is displayed to a user.

FIELD

This invention relates to ambient light effects, and more specifically,to ambient light effects generated based on video content.

BACKGROUND

Television programs, movies, and video games most commonly providevisual stimulation from a television screen display and audiostimulation from the speakers connected to the television. There aresome known systems that attempt to enhance a viewer's/user's experienceby providing a more interactive/responsive environment. For example,some video gaming systems cause lighting devices such as lamps togenerate an ambient light effect (“ALE”) during game play.

To provide an enjoyable interactive experience, the lighting devicesneed to generate the ambient light effects at appropriate times when theassociated scene is displayed to a user. In addition, the lightingdevices need to generate a variety of ambient light effects toappropriately match a variety of scenes and action sequences in a movieor a video game. Thus, an ambient light effect-capable system needs tobe able to identify one or more scenes during the display of which anambient light effect is to be generated.

One such system focuses on detecting and analyzing various parameters ofthe video file or video game application and generating ambient lighteffects based on the detected parameters. One problem with such anapproach is that many video files and video games include various accessrestrictions imposed by the content providers, and such restrictions maymake it difficult or impossible to analyze the parameters of a videofile and/or video game.

Some existing systems include lighting devices that produce only variousintensities and flickering of white colored light. A disadvantage ofsuch systems is that while the television programs, movies, and videogames typically include a wide variety of scenes, events, and actionsequences, the known ambient light systems are limited to generating asingle light color which may appear too repetitive to users and causethe users to lose interest in such ambient light effects. Accordingly,what is needed is a way of producing ambient light effects inassociation with one or more portions of a video file that overcomes theaforementioned shortcomings.

SUMMARY

The present invention satisfies this need. In one embodiment, a methodof producing an ambient light effect is provided. The method comprises:providing a receiving device including a processor configured to parseincoming video content; receiving the video content at the receivingdevice, the video content including a plurality of scenes; parsing theincoming video content and detecting at least one scene in the videocontent for association with at least one ambient light effect;generating a command specifying the at least one ambient light effect tobe associated with the at least one scene; and sending the command fromthe receiving device to the at least one lighting device incommunication with the receiving device to generate the at least oneambient light effect associated with the at least one scene when the atleast one scene is displayed to a user.

In one approach, the receiving device is selected from one of atelevision, set-top box, disc player, personal computer, laptop, tabletcomputer, and mobile phone.

In an approach, the method includes detecting at least one scene havinga brightness level exceeding a predetermined threshold. In anotherapproach, the method includes detecting at least one scene having abrightness level below a predetermined threshold. In yet anotherapproach, the method further includes detecting at least one scenehaving a sound level exceeding a predetermined threshold. In stillanother approach, the method further includes detecting at least onescene having a sound level below a predetermined threshold. In yetanother approach, the method further includes detecting an action in theat least one scene predetermined to be associated with the at least oneambient light effect.

In an approach, the method comprises including in the commandchrominance control data specifying at least one color selected fromred, green, blue, or combinations thereof to be generated by the atleast one lighting device. In another approach, the method furthercomprises specifying in the command a color intensity of the at leastone light color specified by the chrominance control data. In yetanother approach, the method further includes specifying a predeterminedtime when the at least one ambient light effect is to be generated bythe at least one lighting device. In still another approach, the methodfurther comprises specifying the at least one lighting device forgenerating the at least one ambient light effect specified in thecommand. In yet another approach, the method further comprisesspecifying a location of the at least one lighting device relative tothe receiving device.

In one approach, the method further includes sending the command fromthe receiving device to the at least one lighting device via one of awired connection and a wireless connection. In another approach, themethod further includes sending the command from the receiving device tothe at least one lighting device via an intermediate receiver. In yetanother approach, the method further includes sending the command fromthe receiving device to the at least one lighting device via a homeautomation system.

The systems and methods described herein provide an engaging experienceto a user when watching television programming, movies, or playing videogames. One advantage of the systems and methods described therein isthat television programming, movies, and video games can be made moreinteractive for a user by including ambient light effects can begenerated by one or more lighting devices. Another advantage is that theambient light effects are generated based on information detected fromthe video file representing the television program, movie, or video gameand obviates a necessity of manually associating scenes with ambientlight effects and writing the ambient light effects into the videofiles. Yet another advantage of the systems and methods described hereinis that unlike prior systems producing ambient light effects in variousshades of white, the ambient light effects described herein can includea large variety of colors. These and other advantages will be apparentupon consideration of the present specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary system for performing amethod according to one embodiment; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary video stream and anexemplary system for performing a method according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

Generally, systems and methods are described herein for providingambient light effects for a user when watching television programming,movies, or playing video games. The ambient light effects can begenerated by one or more lighting devices based on information containedin the video file representing the television program, movie, or videogame. The ambient light effects so generated can include chrominancecontrol data that can result in the ambient light effects to bepresented to users in a variety of colors. As such, a dynamic and moreinteractive experience is provided for a user.

With specific reference to FIG. 1, in one embodiment of a method ofcontrolling ambient light effects, a receiving device 10 receives videofiles from a video source 12 via a connection 11. The receiving device10 can be any one of a television, set-top box, optical disc player suchas a DVD-player or Blu-Ray player, portable media player, personalcomputer, laptop, tablet computer, gaming console, mobile phone, and thelike.

The video source 12 can be any source capable of providing digital videofiles via a connection 11 to the receiving device 10. The video source12 can be a cable head-end, a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, a video game disc,hard drive, or a digital media server capable of streaming to thereceiving device 10. Although the receiving device 10 preferablyreceives the video files from the video source 12 via a wired connection11, the connection 11 between the receiving device 10 and the videosource 12 can also be wireless.

In one approach shown in FIG. 1, the receiving device 10 is directlyconnected to two lighting devices 16 and 18 via connections 20 and 22,respectively. The receiving device 10 has an output 14 and the lightingdevices 16 and 18 each have an input 24 and 26, respectively, which canbe interconnected via the respective connections 20 and 22. It is to beappreciated that the connections 20 and 22 can be either wired orwireless connections, and the receiving device 10 and the lightingdevices 16 and 18 can be connected as described in more detail inco-pending application entitled “VIDEO FILES INCLUDING AMBIENT LIGHTEFFECTS,” filed on Oct. 11, 2012, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

The lighting devices 16 and 18 can be any type of household orcommercial device capable of producing visible light. For example only,the lighting devices 16 and 18 may be stand-alone lamps, track lights,recessed lights, wall-mounted lights or the like. In one approach, thelighting devices 16 and 18 are capable of generating light having colorbased on the RGB model or any other visible colored light in addition towhite light. In another approach, the lighting devices 16 and 18 arealso adapted to be dimmed.

The receiving device 10 has been shown in FIG. 1 as being connected totwo lighting devices 16 and 18 by way of example only, and it will beappreciated that that the receiving device 10 can be connected to anynumber of lighting devices 16 and 18 suitable for a given room where thereceiving device 10 is located. In one exemplary approach, the receivingdevice 10 may be connected to only one lighting device 16. In anotherapproach, the receiving device 10 may be connected to four lightingdevices each located in a corner of a room, in another approach, thereceiving device 10 may be connected to at least two lighting deviceslocated in front of a user, at least two lighting devices located onright and left sides of the user, and at least two lighting deviceslocated behind the user so as to create a surround ambient light effectfor the user. It is to be appreciated that the lighting devices 16 and18 can be identical to each other, or can be different such that thereceiving device 10 can be simultaneously connected to two, three, four,or more types of different lighting devices.

With reference to FIG. 2, the receiving device 10 is adapted for parsingan incoming digital video signal or a digital video file coming from avideo source 12. In an embodiment, the receiving device 10 includes aprocessor 13 programmed to parse an incoming digital video signal ordigital video file. For purposes of this application, the term“processor” will be understood to mean any hardware and/or softwarecomponent programmable to parse the incoming digital video signal ordigital video file. For example, the processor 13 may be a decoder orpart of a graphics card.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary digital video stream 30 incoming from thevideo source 12 and being received by the receiving device 10. Thedigital video stream 30 includes a digital video file 32 and a digitalaudio file 34. When the digital video stream 30 is received by thereceiving device 10 from the video source 12, the processor 13 performsthe parsing of the digital video file 32 to detect one or more portionsof the video file 32 to be associated with one or more ambient lighteffects.

In one approach, the processor 13 is programmed to include an algorithmadapted to determine which one or more portions of the video file 32 areto be associated with at least one ambient light effect. In anotherapproach, the processor 13 is also programmed to include an algorithmadapted to determine what ambient light effect to associate with theportion of the video file 32 identified by the processor 13 forassociation with the ambient light effect. In yet another approach, theprocessor 13 includes an algorithm adapted to identify certain scenes,action sequences, and events of the program, movie, or game contained inthe digital video file 32.

The ambient light effects can be associated by the processor 13 with anyportion of the video file 32. For example, portions of the video file 32with which an ambient light effect can be associated by the processor 13include, but are not limited to, background settings (day, night,outdoor, indoor, etc.), action sequences (e.g., car chases, explosions,fights, etc.), specific events (e.g., a character is born, a charactergoes to sleep or wakes up, a character dies, etc.). By way of exampleonly, the lighting devices can generate green light effect for an actionsequence showing plants blooming in the Spring and a yellow light effectfor an action sequence showing leaves falling in the Fall.

In one approach, the processor 13 is programmed to include an algorithmto generate chrominance control data for inclusion into the ambientlight effect such that the ambient light effect can be composed ofcolors including, but not limited to, red, green, blue, and combinationsthereof. The generation of ambient light effects based on chrominancecontrol data is described in more detail in co-pending applicationentitled “AMBIENT LIGHT EFFECTS AND CHROMINANCE CONTROL IN VIDEO FILES,”Filed on Oct. 11, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein. In another approach, the processor 13 is programmedto include an algorithm adapted to determine a color intensity of the atleast one light color specified by the chrominance control data.

In one approach, the processor 13 is programmed to include an algorithmfor detecting at least one scene having a brightness level exceeding apredetermined threshold. In another approach, the method includesdetecting at least one scene having a brightness level below apredetermined threshold. For example, the processor 13 can be programmedto assign one type of ambient light effect to a scene taking place atnight and a different type of ambient light effect to a scene takingplace during the day.

In yet another approach, the processor 13 is programmed to include analgorithm for detecting at least one scene having a sound levelexceeding a predetermined threshold. In still another approach, theprocessor 13 is programmed to include an algorithm for detecting atleast one scene having a sound level below a predetermined threshold.For example, the processor 13 can be programmed with an algorithm toassign one type of ambient light effect to a scene taking place in a baror on a battlefield and another type of ambient light effect to a scenetaking place in a library.

In still another approach, the processor 13 is programmed to include analgorithm for detecting an action or event in the at least one scenepredetermined to be associated with the at least one ambient lighteffect. For example, the processor 13 can be programmed with analgorithm to assign one type of ambient light effect to a touchdownscored in a football game and a different type of ambient light effectto an turnover committed by the same team.

In yet another approach, the processor 13 is programmed to include analgorithm for specifying one or more of the lighting devices 16 and 18for generating the at least one ambient light effect associated with atleast one scene in the video file 32. In still another approach, theprocessor 13 is also programmed to specify a location of the specifiedlighting device (e.g., lighting device 16 or lighting device 18, orboth) relative to the receiving device 10.

The lighting devices 16 and 18 can include hardware components 17 and19, respectively. For example only, the hardware components 17 and 19can be decoders programmed to interpret the ambient light effectinformation received from the receiving device 10 in the commands 40 and42, respectively. In an approach, the hardware components 17 and 19 canbe configured to cause the lighting devices 16 and 18, respectively, togenerate one or more of the ambient light effect based on the datareceived in the commands 40 and 42.

In an approach, the lighting devices 16 and 18 may include at least onesoftware component adapted for interpreting the ambient light effectdata received from the receiving device in the commands 40 and 42. Inone approach, the software component can be adapted to cause thelighting devices 16 and 18 to generate one or more of the ambient lighteffects specified in the commands 40 and 42, respectively.

When the commands 40 and 42 from the receiving device 10 are received bythe lighting devices 16 and 18, the lighting devices 16 and 18 generatethe ambient light effects specified in the commands 40 and 42. As such,the ambient light effects specified in the commands 40 and 42 aregenerated by the lighting devices 16 and 18, respectively, preferably,when the one or more portions of the digital video file 32 associatedwith the one or more ambient light effects specified in the commands 40and 42 are displayed to the user.

The generation of ambient light effects including one or more differentcolors by the lighting devices 16 and 18 in association with scenes,action sequences, and events specified in the commands 40 and 42generated by the processor 13 provides an enhanced and visually pleasingand interactive experience for a user watching a television program or amovie, or playing a video game.

In one approach, a graphical user interface can provided to a user topermit the user to configure one or more options for controlling thegeneration of the ambient light effects by the lighting devices 16 and18 based on ambient light effects specified by the processor 13 in thecommands 40 and 42. This provides a personally tailored experience foreach specific user.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety ofmodifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect tothe above described embodiments without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A receiving device for producing an ambient lighteffect, the receiving device comprising: a processor configured to parsean incoming digital video file including a plurality of scenes, theprocessor programmed to: parse the incoming digital video file anddetect, based on information contained in the digital video file, atleast one scene in the digital video file for association with at leastone ambient light effect; generate a command specifying the at least oneambient light effect to be associated with the at least one scene; andsend the command from the receiving device to at least one lightingdevice in communication with the receiving device to generate the atleast one ambient light effect associated with the at least one scenewhen the at least one scene is displayed to a user.
 2. The receivingdevice of claim 1, wherein the receiving device is at least one of atelevision, set-top box, disc player, personal computer, laptop, tabletcomputer, and mobile phone.
 3. The receiving device of claim 1, whereinthe processor is one of a stand-alone decoder and a decoder incorporatedinto a graphics card integrated into the receiving device.
 4. Thereceiving device of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed todetect at least one scene in the digital video file predetermined to beassociated with the at least one ambient light effect.
 5. The receivingdevice of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to specify in thecommand chrominance control data specifying at least one color selectedfrom red, green, blue, or combinations thereof to be generated by the atleast one lighting device.
 6. The receiving device of claim 5, whereinthe processor is programmed to specify in the command a color intensityof the at least one light color specified by the chrominance controldata.
 7. The receiving device of claim 1, wherein the processor isprogrammed to specify in the command a predetermined time when the atleast one ambient light effect is to be generated by the at least onelighting device.
 8. The receiving device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is programmed to specify in the command at least one lightingdevice for generating the at least one ambient light effect specified inthe command.
 9. The receiving device of claim 1, wherein the processoris programmed to send the command from the receiving device to the atleast one lighting device via an intermediate receiver.
 10. Thereceiving device of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to sendthe command from the receiving device to the at least one lightingdevice via a home automation system.
 11. A method of producing anambient light effect, the method comprising: sending a digital videostream including an audio file and a video file with a plurality ofscenes from a video source to a receiving device including a processorconfigured to: parse the digital video file and detect, based oninformation contained in the digital video file, at least one scene inthe digital video file for association with at least one ambient lighteffect; generate a command specifying the at least one ambient lighteffect to be associated with the at least one scene; and send thecommand from the receiving device to at least one lighting device incommunication with the receiving device to generate the at least oneambient light effect associated with the at least one scene when the atleast one scene is displayed to a user.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the receiving device is one of a television, set-top box,decoder, graphics card, media player, disc player, personal computer,laptop, tablet computer, and mobile phone.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the video source is one of a cable head-end, a digital videodisc, a video game disc, a hard drive, and a digital media serverconfigured to send the digital video stream to the receiving device. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein the processor is programmed to detect atleast one scene in the digital video file predetermined to be associatedwith the at least one ambient light effect.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein the processor is programmed to specify in the commandchrominance control data specifying at least one color selected fromred, green, blue, or combinations thereof to be generated by the atleast one lighting device.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein theprocessor is programmed to specify in the command a color intensity ofthe at least one light color specified by the chrominance control data.17. The method of claim 11, wherein the processor is programmed tospecify in the command a predetermined time when the at least oneambient light effect is to be generated by the at least one lightingdevice.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the processor is programmedto specify in the command at least one lighting device for generatingthe at least one ambient light effect specified in the command.
 19. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the processor is programmed to send thecommand from the receiving device to the at least one lighting devicevia an intermediate receiver.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein theprocessor is programmed to send the command from the receiving device tothe at least one lighting device via a home automation system.